I love how you worded "I realized many years ago that some people just run better in tandem....others keep getting tangled up in the reins and just need to be singletons. In the end, we all just need to be true to ourselves." My thoughts exactly.

@josephr I have two grown sons - neither of whom ever married. Came close a couple of times. As much as I would have loved to have had grandchildren, I realized a while back that one of them would not have made a very good husband - too self involved - so it was a good thing that he understood this about himself and made the appropriate choices. The other one struggles so hard financially that I think he would have broken under the financial burdens that go along with having a wife and possibly children. So I have to console myself with "fur babies".

@Lavergne Good for you, you certainly have a healthy attitude. My mother never could adjust to her perception that she would never have grandchildren, since i was her only child. I know it caused her pain, and even though i empathized with her hurt, i was not prepared to be what i wasn't. You're obviously a wise woman. Cheers.

Love the "crazy".....that's what makes us uniquely interesting and keeps a relationship fresh. Never give up your crazy...

Buy a duplex!

@AnneWimsey, good thought.

The notion that two people can live together in harmony for a prolonged period of time - each giving and taking in proportion is pretty naïve when you think about it. Most of the relationships that I know that have endured the test of time usually had one "giver" and one "taker" and the success of the relationship had more to do with the acceptance of that fact.

@Lavergne, a "boss" and a "subordinate" so to speak? Yes, I don't doubt that is a typical scenario. I cannot/will not ever live like that even if it means I'll always be alone.

@Condor5 The key (as I've noticed over the years) seems to be that the "subordinate" is comfortable enough in his/her own skin to not consider their role as actually being subordinate. More, I think, as a "facilitator" - the person who knows how to make things happen and steer things in the right direction. When you think about it - that person is actually the boss - they've simply learned how to make the other person think that he/she is.

@Lavergne, yes, that seems accurate. The relationship becomes almost symbiotic, like shark and remora, eh?